Espectroscopía de Infrarrojo por Transformada de Fourier

This section of the report summarises the key findings of the survey. It details the NCC CSS team’s comments on some of the key findings, highlighting those which the NCC may find particularly interesting as it seeks to improve quality of service and facilitate universal access to ICT services. It also suggests some possible areas of further investigation for the NCC.

4.1Key Findings

A composite Customer Satisfaction Index has been calculated for each of the four telecommunications services (mobile, fixed, public access, and internet). The indices have been based on arithmetic means of scores from certain questions. The survey analysis has identified constructs that were closely interrelated, and which together made up a holistic measure of customer satisfaction. A separate Customer Care Index has also been calculated for three of the services (mobile, fixed, and internet).

When exploring interrelationships between indicators, it was interesting to find that indicators relating to the reliability of services (e.g. getting cut off, unable to send SMS) did not relate to primary indicators of service quality (e.g. voice quality), but tended to group together forming a cluster of ‘convenience’ issues. A key finding is that this convenience construct did not then relate strongly to the other constructs representing customer satisfaction i.e. level of satisfaction did not appear to be influenced by factors making the service inconvenient to use. Further investigation is needed to explore the reasons for this counterintuitive finding, but possible explanations include a lack of expectation that services can (or should) improve, either because they are conditioned to the current level of service, or they feel that there is no prospect of services improving.

The model used proposed that intention to change operator provides a cross-check on customer satisfaction, on the basis that satisfied customer are less likely to change. This was indeed the case for mobile phone and Internet users (as a whole), but not for fixed line phone users. Neither was it true for certain groups, such as mobile and Internet users from South West zone. The finding that customers with higher levels of satisfaction expressed a greater likelihood of changing operator suggests that, among certain groups, intention to change is driven by factors other than satisfaction with the existing level of service. Further investigation is required to determine what these factors might be, but given that respondents from South West zone had the highest socio-economic status and includes the commercial centre of Lagos, this may reflect high levels of awareness of consumer rights (e.g. number portability), and a greater familiarity with telecommunications companies and an understanding of what is involved with changing provider.

High status users were more willing to complain, reflecting a stronger sense of empowerment. For example, the frequency of complaints made by mobile phone users was higher among those who used their phone to access VAS, which represents a more sophisticated group of mobile phone users. Overall, 32% of mobile phone users made a

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The survey was based mainly on attitudinal questions, so results reflect perceptions rather than objective measures of service. Results illustrate how perceptions reflect the circumstances of service users. For example, respondents from North West zone, who had the lowest socio-economic status, registered the highest scores for satisfaction (stated), NCC Customer Satisfaction Index, and perceived value for money offered by mobile phones services, yet intensity of phone use was lowest in this zone. Although public access scores for quality of service issues were generally higher among urban respondents and stated satisfaction was higher among urban respondents, it was rural respondents that registered higher scores for perceived value for money. This reflects the premium value of communications to citizens that are isolated, which means they tend to be satisfied with lower levels of service, perceive greater financial benefit from the ability to communicate, yet make only modest use of services.

The analysis highlighted an interesting relationship based on geography between figures for the NCC Customer Satisfaction Index and NCC Customer Care Index. For both mobile phone and internet users, they exhibited an inverse relationship i.e. in zones where the NCC Customer Satisfaction Index score was high, the NCC Customer Care Index was low, and vice versa. This may suggest that in zones where service was poor, customers expressed greater appreciation for the support they were given.

The analysis identified vulnerable groups of users. Respondents who used public phones exclusively (i.e. did not also have access to a private phone) tended to be rural women of low socio-economic status, and 21% mainly used unmanned kiosks. Results show that unmanned kiosk users experience poor levels of service and express low levels of satisfaction and perceived value for money. This is a dissatisfied group that feels they are overcharged, yet are unable or unwilling to invest in a handset.

Finally, some interesting characteristics concerning the use of technology were highlighted. Mobile devices were clearly the most popular means of accessing the Internet. Around 60% of Internet users made voice calls (VOIP), and 60% streamed video over the Internet. VOIP use was highest in North East and North West zones, which also registered the lowest NCC Customer Satisfaction Index scores for mobile service. Conversely, VOIP use was lowest in South West zone, where the mobile NCC Customer Satisfaction Index was highest. Despite often being less convenient to use, less satisfied users may view VoIP as a free or cheaper alternative technology for making calls, especially because users are charged for internet access rather than on a per minute or per second basis for VoIP calls.

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